Pleased with my Xti

I purchased a crown XLS 802 but found it too noisy. Dont want to void warranty so am leary of opening it up and playing with the fans. I do plan to use it in my HT setup. Also getting a ground loop hum which I will track down and eliminate before finally inserting the XLS.

Anyway I was so pleased with the Crown I purchased an XLS 1500 and it was super in my home stereo system. Used a behringer DEQ2496 for room correction (as that space is a little shouty).

The Xti was fascinating as I read up its capabilities, so got one of those and now I can remove the behringer and just set up the EQ on the amp itself.

These amps are doing a better job than my McIntosh and Emotiva gear......

Overall I do feel that the XtI sounds better than the XLS 1500. Is there a difference or is that my imagination only?

XTi is class AB and XLS 1500 is Class-D. It's possible you hear a difference in sound but it should be minimal. In a hifi/home theater setup, the XLS 1500 fan will toggle between extremely slow and stopped, so the fan-noise is a non-issue. XTi, like the older XLS may produce more fan-noise, that may or may not be acceptable in your setup.

I just got an used CTs600 for my home theater and the fan-noise is somewhere at the acceptable/annoying level in my setup. I may decide to replace it. It's sound and build quality is top notch however. But I disgress!